Effectively managing waste protects human health and the environment. At our global manufacturing and research facilities, we generate both hazardous and non-hazardous waste. That’s why we put controls and programs in place to reduce risk, minimize waste generation and use waste disposal alternatives such as beneficial use and recycling. To achieve this we:

• Establish absolute reduction goals to reduce the amount of hazardous and nonhazardous waste generated, increasing our recycling rate and aspiring to achieve zero waste to landfills by 2035.
• Evaluate opportunities to reduce, reuse and recycle materials, in addition to implementing initiatives that reduce waste generation.
• Characterize waste streams to determine waste classification and proper disposal methods.
• Routinely audit the procedures and practices of third-party waste management providers to ensure our waste is properly managed and disposed of.
• Ensure that waste management training is provided to AbbVie employees and contract workers before they undertake any responsibility for hazardous waste management activities.
• Developed a Sustainable Packaging Program focused on Design for Recovery with Circular Economy principles in mind while also optimizing packaging solutions for carbon emissions during transportation and material innovation via supplier engagements.

Standards are not only a matter of compliance; they are a way for our organization to participate in common action toward shared goals. We use external partnerships and standards bodies to increase our accountability, help guide our environmental actions and make for collective action that no one company could achieve on its own. Below are a number of examples:

• In 2021, we joined the Science Based Targets initiative along with other ambitious corporate leaders committing to carbon emission targets aligned to the Paris Climate Agreement. 
• In 2020, we partnered with S&P Global Trucost to perform a Climate Risk Assessment for Physical Risks. The risk assessment encompassed 100 global sites and locations including all of our manufacturing, R&D, warehouse locations, along with selected commercial affiliate offices. 
• In preparation for stronger hurricanes, all roofs at our Barceloneta, Puerto Rico site have been designed and reinforced to withstand a Category 5 Hurricane. In addition, we recently replaced the cogeneration system at our Barceloneta, Puerto Rico site.  The new system is designed with redundant engines to better ensure that we can self-generate power in the event that one of the engines is damaged during a storm event.
• In preparation for power interruptions from wildfires, we installed and commissioned an on-site emergency generator at our new R&D site located in South San Francisco.

The 2020 Assurance Report outlines performance for corporate-wide environmental and safety data.

We monitor our operations to ensure that the manufacture use and disposal of our products do not adversely affect people or the planet. Our ongoing research efforts aid our understanding of issues surrounding pharmaceuticals in the environment—insights which will guide our future decisions. To achieve this, we:

• Provide regulatory authorities with environmental risk assessments that are used to evaluate potential environmental risks associated with patient use of our medications.
• Continually evaluate the potential for environmental risks of our active pharmaceutical ingredients.
• Partner with industry organizations such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) to identify and quantify environmental risks.

Our suppliers are expected to champion our environmental protection efforts with us. As part of our supply chain management program, our supplier sustainability audits include a robust assessment of the environmental stewardship practices of key suppliers and their processes. Through our Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) procurement policy, we prioritize suppliers and purchased goods that have lower negative impact on the environment and human health. To achieve this, we:

• Consider and promote favorable environmental factors of procured products including—among other factors—recyclability, biodegradability and elimination of toxicity.
• Integrate responsible environmental, health and safety (EHS) language into our contract templates to ensure that our EHS stewardship expectations are clearly communicated to suppliers of key products and services.

At AbbVie, our people are our power. They show up for work with commitment and care, and they bring that same level of passion and engagement to our environmental initiatives:
 

• Our SPARK Innovation Accelerator is an incubator for employee-driven AbbVie sustainability proposals focused on accelerating our efforts to reduce energy, water and waste. In 2020, colleagues from 37 different global sites submitted over 200 ideas. The estimated positive impact from the proposals is a reduction of 95,700 cubic meters of water (38 Olympic swimming pools) and a reduction of 613 metric tons of waste (307 garbage trucks). 
• On Earth Day 2020, we launched an employee sustainability engagement campaign called EcoChallenge to encourage the adoption of sustainable behaviors at work and at home. Over 48,100 sustainable actions were completed by 2,200 colleagues from 36 different countries.